How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

The festive atmosphere which coloured the air, thoroughly washing over one's ears, sight and more, was a scene that did not fit Noah Bellamy.
He much preferred the soothing comfort of quieter spaces, such as the library he frequented or the small corners where he could escape from all sounds. Although it wasn't as if social situations would kill him, he simply didn't often choose to attend them.
Even if he became lonely, he would find comfort in knowing there was nobody to scrutinize or judge him. No part of himself he needed to disguise when the sole presence belonged to himself.
However, sitting by a flight of cobblestone stairs in a dark alleyway of the town, watching a certain person overstuffed their face with boxes upon boxes of food, he fell silent.
Niklas had been dragged away by some other friends earlier, promising his swift return, but Noah wasn't one to wait. He also didn't need Niklas to watch over him like a lonely child that would get lost. In fact, the dragon considered going back to the Academy, before slinking off to a dark area to read his book.
And then, he saw a certain disguised fool, scurrying from stall to stall. Suddenly, the words on the page were less interesting. Then, after joining up with Kaden, the thoughts of returning completely evaporated.
Flipping open the book, words illuminated perfectly by the luminescent moonlight that flitted over the pages, he started to read.
Occasionally, he would glance at Kaden who had adjusted to eating slower after being curtly reminded by the dragon's low and warning voice, and in turn, trying more of the collection that Noah had bought him.
Every time he did, Kaden would blink with surprise and smile a smile so innocent that it left Noah speechless.
"I won't give you any food, even if you ask." proclaimed Kaden childishly, though his manner of eating was still surprisingly polite. It was a textbook example of manners, taught by words and not a teacher. There was a subtle difference between the two.
Noah snorted. "I'm not interested in those foods."
"I thought you'd appreciate food more, Bellamy. I'm rather disappointed."
Excuse me, didn't you just say you wouldn't share any food?
Noah shook his head with resignation at Kaden's immaturity. However, the latter had already turned away to continue picking and nibbling at different items.
His face was starting to pale from overeating, looking a little sick from the amount consumed. Noah narrowed his eyes, sighing softly.
"If you're full, stop eating."
Kaden looked a little reluctant. "I'm not full yet."
"Ridiculous. I don't care how much you want to eat, but if you're looking ill to the stomach, you should stop."
"No."
The dragon stared, now more out of stubbornness and frustration at being disobeyed, and placed his book down. He stretched out a hand.
And Kaden leaped to his feet.
"...what are you doing?"
"I could ask the same."
Noah had no intention of participating in a game of chase, and instead stared ahead with a frightening calm, his imposing disposition radiating over his body.
In all honestly, Kaden was aware that his stomach felt full and it would be foolish to keep eating away, like a spoiled child who didn't know his limits. But who was to say when he'd be able to try these foods again?
In his years of starvation, a luxury of all this food bought for him was something he didn't want to make light of.
His stomach actually rolled in complaint, entirely unwilling to eat any more.
His heart told a different story.
He'd been trying to take small bites of everything, but a person who ate little could not suddenly stuff himself and feel normal.
But even if the person who'd gifted him was Noah, Kaden had never received a gift before. The royal household had provided the absolute minimum, perhaps more than he would have if he stayed on the streets.
But this wasn't the same..
And as his expression flickered between conflicting and a simmering glow of embarrassment, Noah lowered his hand.
"You bought it for me." said Kaden slowly.
Something tickled the edge of Noah's heart as he frowned. "I can buy more. And for a person who is so determined to play a villainous character, it would be strange for you to care so much for a gift, Chauvet."
His biting words were regretted the moment they left his lips, and even more so when Kaden's face fell, lowering his eyes.
"It is strange, isn't it?"
A sardonic smile replaced the innocent expression, and Kaden lifted his chin slightly, musing. His eyebrows smoothened, relaxed, and so deliberate that it irritated Noah immensely.
But Kaden wasn't that downcast about Noah's words—though it had been a good reminder not to let himself get too carried away.
Self-deprecation was something easy for the man to fall back to, and he reminded himself that ultimately, he was the one following the dragon around. Taunting and teasing, all for a terrible goal in the end.
Even if that was the case, he didn't care.
He would live this life without regrets this time. He wouldn't sentence those he cared for to demise, even if he was destined to continue playing his role until the end.
He had years to understand himself, to both hate and take apart his thoughts.
Kaden sat down on the steps, closing the box. "You're right, I'm full. I'll take it back and save it for later."
Noah's eyebrows knitted together, pressing his lips into a thin line. It was what he intended—to have that fool stop eating before he exploded. Lest the man get stomach problems later, and groan in pain for the entire night.
"...if you want to eat more, then eat."
"No, I'm full."
"Eat."
Suddenly, the sides had changed and each person argued for the opposing point. Kaden stared at Noah, confused and annoyed.
"I'm full."
"......" Noah sighed, rubbing his temples before picking his book back up. "I apologize, Chauvet. I went too far. Although I do think you should stop eating when you feel ill for the sake of yourself, I shouldn't have said what I said."
A loom of silence fell over the two, before Kaden stood up, neither rejecting nor accepting the apology.
He glanced back over to the festive streets, nodding. "I want to continue exploring the festival."
It wasn't difficult to understand Noah's guilt—the dragon had always been that way. Underneath the stony exterior was a kind man who knew perfectly well when he crossed the line.
Therefore, Kaden stretched out a hand and teased, "Shall we go on a little date, my dear dragon?"
Noah scowled at his wording, but stood up, picking up his share of boxes so that Kaden wouldn't accidentally drop everything again, and followed the other closely.
It was oddly comforting having Noah by his side, thought Kaden absentmindedly as he poked a displayed doll. His words were few, but his eyes would remain fixated on Kaden, always listening.
There were few things left to do in the festival, that Kaden hadn't already wandered over to spectator or participate in.
He'd visited every stall, taken a bite or two if there was food to sample, much at the glaring warning of Noah, who once again reminded him that his stomach would explode if he kept eating. Kaden replied by saying if his stomach exploded, he would leave it to the dragon to nurse him all night.
They stopped by a theater act, a puppet show with rows of children sitting on the streets to watch with great excitement. The speaker had obviously pitched their voice higher, in a twisted, unrecognizable sort of way.
"Once upon a time, there was a brilliant villain."
In a flash of sparkling lights, a black-hooded figure burst from the center, parading around in a arrogant strut. A low tap to the back of the wooden stall mimicked footsteps.
"He was hated by all, disgraced to the bone."
A crowd entered the side, jeering and hooting a variety of colourful insults.
"...he was truly unforgivable." There seemed to be a hint of sorrow painted over the simple words. "A murderer, walking down a path of no return."
The curtain drew darkness over the figure, making it seem as if he were wallowing in a lonely sadness, a pitiful path of demise. Kaden's heart ached, as if he could relate to this depressing display.
He scoffed to himself, but lowered his head slightly to hide his eyes. Noah tilted his head, gaze deepening in thought. He resisted the urge to pull away the hood that hid Kaden's expressions, to reveal the man for what he felt.
"Of course, as anyone would assume, he fell into the burning flames of retribution. He sunk into a void he could never return from—and say, with the terrible man gone, would the world not rejoice?"
There was a spell of silence, and the children watched with eager stares, restless in their spots. The play was rather dark for kids their age, but it was the dramatic atmosphere that kept them interested.
Some parents had already pulled their children away, while others remained standing, calmly watching.
After all, some believed that pulling youth away from depressing scenes only aided in naivety and hopeless innocence. Was there anything wrong with telling the truth? Or was it better to lie, until they found out how bleak life was on their own?
"But the world didn't rejoice."
The figure crumpled to the ground, lit with a flame as the paper burned away into ashes, blowing away with the helping wind. In replacement, several new figures appeared in the center, expressions unclear.
"To be accurate, there were those who joyously celebrated—but unknown to the dead man, there were those who mourned deeply."
Low sobs in various heights, soft muttering and louder wailing was acted out by the speaker, as all the figures huddled together.
Kaden made out four distinct tones; the soft sobbing of a woman, the loud wailing of a youth, the unforgiving, choked tears of a man, and the broken, almost silent cries of another.
The speaker clearly displayed a brilliant act, raising and lowering his voice to suit each person. The emotional distress was so clearly painted that several children sniffed tearfully, easily affected.
Kaden glanced at Noah. "Can you do that? Changing your voice?"
A singular, gruff word answered him. "No."
"Really? Not even raising your voice—what a pity." Kaden shook his head pitifully, with a shrug as trouble glistened in his eyes. "I would've liked to hear you scream. I can't imagine it—do you even know how to?"
Noah stared heavily at the trouble-seeking man, calmly spouting nonsense without a flinch in his expression.
Sometimes immature, sometimes entirely dirty and crude—what a character.
However, seeing the gleeful joy evidently displayed at making the dragon speechless, Noah suddenly had the urge to stir up trouble himself. He was being polluted, tainted with Kaden's sly remarks—and he found, it wasn't entirely that bad.
He lowered his head slightly, so that his lips were mere inches away from the other's ears and said in a low tone, "I think you'd be the one doing the screaming."
Kaden's face immediately blanked, and Noah, half embarrassed and half satisfied, looked away coldly without saying anything else. The former rubbed his ears with a confused frown before saying loudly,
"You do realize, if anybody else said that, it would be rather basic—the most common line read in those romance novels that are trending." An elegant, playful curl of his lips formed shamelessly. "But you're saved by your voice."
"...what are you trying to say?"
"I mean to say, your husky, deep and soul-touching voice—"
Noah cleared his throat before Kaden could continue his exaggerated nonsense, feeling the throb of a headache pulse at his forehead.
Was it just him, or was this fool getting more shameless by the day?
During their conversation, they had been distracted and missed the rest of the performance, only realizing when a round of applause signaled the end.
A snicker suddenly entered the air, and Kaden glanced down to see a small boy dressed in scrubs, arms crossed and dirt covering half of his face. "Ha! There's no way these stupid nobles are eating this up—villains are villains."
Kaden raised an eyebrow curiously and walked over, crouching down calmly next to the boy. "Why do you think that, boy?"
The child flinched at the abrupt speech, blinking rapidly with large eyes before quickly regaining his arrogant composure. It was a striking difference compared to his much too large clothes, hanging loosely on his body.
"Who are you?"
Kaden lifted his gaze lazily, playing the role of a bored noble. "Didn't your parents teach you not to speak to strangers?"
"...! You... you're the one that spoke to me first!"
"But you responded."
Suddenly, the boy fell mute. He bunched over like a wilted leaf, before springing back to life. "My name's Arlo! What's yours, quick, tell me."
"You may call me Kaden."
"You see!" announced Arlo with a grin, full of confidence. "Now we're not strangers, since I introduced myself."
Kaden felt somewhat amused by the little boy's words, laughing lightly to himself. He'd reached out partly out of interest at his earlier complaints, but also because the way the boy acted and dressed reminded himself of a faded past.
Back when he was living in the slums, barely a skeleton of skin and bones.
Then, given the opportunity to find clothes, he always searched for a larger size. So it would fit even as he grew earlier, and he wouldn't need to seek out new clothes.
"Anyway! Villains are evil—they deserve punishment. Nobody cries for the evil, you know? It just wouldn't make sense."
"Really?" Kaden's gaze flickered to Noah, who remained standing behind, watching. "Are you saying that villains shouldn't be treated like humans?"
"Yeah! They should be beaten up and face their sins. Don't you agree, sir?"
The others had already shuffled away to other events, and Kaden could see some of the burnt ashes from earlier littering the ground. Moonlight filtered through his dense eyelashes as he lifted his chin, a wry smile curling at his lips.
There seemed to be some reproach in his voice as he spoke.
"I do."
Somebody yanked him by the arm, pulling him up as he stumbled into a standing position. Kaden swung his head back, snatching his arm out of the other's grasp.
"Bellamy?" said Kaden, confused as he rubbed the spot he'd been roughly grabbed. "What, missed me already?"
Noah spared him a single glance, nodding and speaking in the blandest tone, "Dearly. Now, that's enough. Let's move—the festival will end soon."
He started to walk away briskly, leaving Kaden no choice but to follow behind. Before he did, he waved at the bewildered child. "Hey, brat. Let's continue our conversation another day, alright?"
He set down a few of the boxes of food he was carrying a little reluctantly before hurrying away. Noah slowed his footsteps when glancing back, as if waiting for a certain fool to catch up.
"A parting gift!"
The boy blinked in a daze before looking down. Suspicion clouded his wary stare before he crawled forward and poked the box, cracking it open slightly. Like a careful stray cat, pushing food with a dirty paw.
A powerful aroma filled his nose, and drool trickled out of his mouth subconsciously. His empty stomach rumbled—as it had done throughout the entire festival.
Only, before it was because he could only enviously watch everybody happily eat their food and be reminded of his poverty, and his aching, bleeding feet.
A part of him wanted to refuse the food—after all, nobles were scary people, and years of caution had kept him alive this far. However, the smell became too overwhelming, and he nibbled a small piece, like a kitten taking a tiny lick.
The flavourful taste spread throughout his mouth, and he took another bite, then another until the box was completely empty.
His stomach felt heavy, but he still reached out for the other box eagerly, having not felt full for as long as he could remember. Then he stopped himself.
"No, no. I need to save this." muttered the boy reasonably, gathering the boxes into his bony arms before hopping away. "This is enough to last me a few weeks!"
Among the rustling crowd, and loud fireworks sparking high in the sky, the happy humming of a satisfied little boy could be heard.